Mail box



: Feb. 22 1927.

1,618,793 fr. B. WRIGHT R 14511; BOX

'- Filed Feb. 18. 1924 J I H-TTORNEY Patented Feb. 22, 1927.

PATENT oFFicE; A

THOMAS B. WRIGHT, CINCINNATI, OHIO.

MAIL Box.

Application filed February 18, 1924. Serial n ees rze.

The object of my invention is to make a cheap, convenient, simple, and highly efficie11t,serviceable mail box, which shall be made of a few parts.

My invention belongs to that class of mail boxes which is generally used by individuals in receiving mail at their home, factory, or other places and is suspended at some con-' venient point so that the mail carrier can deposit the mail therein.

Mail boxes of this class are usually fective in construction, especially thecheaper ones, and allow'therain, snow, and moisture to penetrate the same on account of the joints or other unsuitable construction. Boxes of th1s character often tear the mail when it is inserted, or extracted therefrom,

on account of the peculiar construction of the box, whichare highly inconvenient and impractical.

The primary and basic object of my invention'is to produce a mail box of such a construction that it will consist only of a body part and a door, the door and the body part so constructed that the doorcan be opened to approximately the entire extent of the mail box, so that the mail can be taken out bodily and not pulled out, thus preventing the tearing of the mail and dis pensing with the inconvenience of taking the same from the box.

'Inorder to carry out'and describe my invention, I will set forth one specific form thereof. 5

One of the features of my invention consists in stamping the body of the box out of one piece of sheet metal, and, further, in stamping the front or door of the box out of one sheet of sheet metal, and combining them together so that the door will slide" upwardly and downwardly enabling the mail to be abstracted without hindrance,

without tearing the same, and in 'a con venient manner.

door so that it will not leavethe body of the box.

Another feature of my invention consists Still another feature consists in providing,

a finger hold for raising the sliding door which, at the same time, acts as a limiting means for. raising said door, and another feature of 'my invention consists in forming a' practically water tight joint between the sliding door and thebody of the box.

Another feature consists in forming the screw holes in the body of the box .so that they willbe embossed or rounded on the inside, preventing the tearing of the mail, and that they will be flush at the rear so that the box can be readily hung up.

till another feature consists in having all the parts of the-body part and the slid ing door rounded so that there are no corners or projections' which would in any wise interfere or tear the mail,while it is being taken out of the box, or when ,the'same is inserted by the mail carrier.

My mail box is unique, in construction,

and possesses marked utility.

In the accompanying drawing, forming,

part of this specification:

Fig. 1, is a view in elevation of my new mail box, 7

Fig. 2, is a section thereof, on the line 1'1 of Fig. 1, the box being hung up in position, 7 V Fig. 3, 1s a top View, looking down on the box, and

Fig. 4,

' nails=9pass to hold the mail box in position.

These holes in the inside of the box are embossed or rounded and smooth so as not to rip or tearthe letters, and on the outside are flush with the back so that the box can be positioned flush with the door orframe 10,

is a section on the line of Fig. 1, to show the joint connection between This see Fig. 2. The back, sides, edges, top, and

bottom and its other parts are all made in tegral, and this is the preferred form, al-' though I may form it of parts, if desired, and found convenient in practice.

The front of the box is closed by an upwardly and downwardly sliding door 12,

provided at the front side with a mail slot 13, a cardholder let, a linger hold 15, and. a depending eyelet 16, at thefbottom.

A bead as 17 is also stamped into the face of the door, for strength and to enhance the appearance thereof. Along the. side edges the sliding door 12 has inwardly double track for the sliding door of. the

box. The linger hold 15 is made as shown in Fig. 2, so that a firm hold can be taken by the operator, an outwardly extending rounded flange 19 and an inwardly extending rounded flange 20, forming the same.

All the parts just described as making and forming the sliding door are stamped out of one piece of metal and are therefore formed integral, but I may form said slidingdoor of parts, if found expedient.

A lid to protect the mail slot l3 is formed of a body 21 having an upper rearwardly extendin flange 22, and an outwardly extending flange at its lower extremity. llctween the top edge of flange 21 of the slidingdoor 12 and the rearwardly exteiuling flange 22 on the lid or cover, I term a hinge connection 25, so that the said mail slot,lid or cover can be swung. The upper rearwardlv extending flange 24, at the top ol the sliding door, when the door is down in position to be locked, abuts against the top of the flaring edge 5 at the upper end of y the body part, making a tight joint and forming a species of water shed to prevent the water or moisture from entering the box at the top. l l y At the top of the box, at its rear, I provide a device for holding newspapers, pamphlets, and the like, which cannot be placed in the box itself. It is marked ill) in the drawing and is preferably oi the shape shown therein. having a hole at the bottom through which the screw 5) passe-4, which holds said device $.30 in position, see Fig".

however, any form of the device may he used for hold ng said papers and pamphlets.

When the eyelets 7 and lb are in. untaposition, a. lock may be placed thi-iretlirongh for locking the parts together, the, lock not being shown. I preferably place the eyelets 7 and 16 and extend them beyond the edge of the body and door as shown for the purpose of providing for a full up and down movement of the door; the object being to have a door whichby sliding, swinging, or pivoting, or the like, can be moved in such a manner that full access will be had for the extraction of the mail in the box from the bottom instead of at the top.

The card holder Il-l is formed oi rectangular ridge ll and provided with tangs i l at each side and at the top, and bottom, and when the name-card is inserted therein said longs can be tapped to impinge against the nan'ie-card and tightly hold it in position.

It will be noted that the body oi the box has roundedcorners, and its sides, top, and bottom walls are also rounded, allowing iliacility aaremoval of the mail, and enhancing the appearance ol the box, and also giving facility for stamping the one piece of material.

The rounded flange ill) abuts against the top of the box when the sliding door 12 is raised to its limit, thus preventing the door ill from leaving the body ofthe box.

It willbe noted that when the sliding door 12 is raised or lowered the mail slot cover travels alongcwith it. It there is any mail in the box, it can be seen through the linger hold 15.

It will be readily seen that this mail box is rverysiniple, convenient andstrong, and

that by raising the door 12 upwardly the.

mail can be taken out, without tearing the same, be iause it does not have to be pulled through a top slot or narrow, inconvenient lid, or the like. 1 y

While I have described one specific and preferred way oi." making my mail box, I do not wish to limit myself to the exact con structiomns I maychange and. modify the same to some extent. 3

What I claim as unvand my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 111 a mail box of the character described, abody part and adoor part, combined together, the door part capable of sliding upwardly and downwardly on the body part, a single hole on the said sliding.

door part for use in raising said sliding door, and a stop on the door arranged adjacent to said hole to limit the upward move: mentof the door art.

2. In a mail box of the character described, a body part, having an upwardly extending flange at the top, a. sliding door,-.

3. In a mail box of the character described,a body part and a sliding door part of; substantially equal height, one of said parts being provided at its edge with an outwardly extending continuous flange,

same out oi lill) edges with grooves slidably engaging said flange, and at its'top with a flange engaging the first mentioned flange, said door part being slidable upwardly beyond the upper edge of the body part to open substantially the entire front of the body part, and a slot in said box to permit mail to be deposited in the same.

4. A mail box as claimed in claim 3, in which the lower edges oi'the body part and door part are extended downwardlyto providetongues, said tongues having registering apertures adapted vto receive a padlock.

5. A mail box as claimed in claim 3, in which the door part is provided near its lower end with a hand hold, outwardly and inwardly extending lips arranged on the door part adjacent said hand hold, the in Wardly extending lip, when the door part is raised, being adapted to engage the top of I the body partto limit the movement of the door part.

6. A mail box comprising a body formed of a single piece of metal and having its front face open, the body being provided at its edges With an outwardly extending flange, a sliding door closing the'oentire front of the body and provided along its side edges with grooves engaging said flange, salddoor being slidable upwardly beyond the upper edge of the body, a stop arranged on the inner suri'ace'of the door near the lower end of the latter, and adapted, when the door is slid upwardly, to engage the top of the body and limit the upward movement of the door, a rearwardly extending flange provided at the upper end of the door and THOMAS B. WRIGHT.

ruary, 1924. 

